1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to metalurgy, and more particularly to iron and steel recovery from scrap metal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Goods for business and personal households are often packaged in containers of tin coated metal. Therefore, each day, as we consume or use such products, we create a major disposal and polution problem. Furthermore, residue from steel making operations such as side trims, crop ends and other tin scraps resulting from tin lines and known collectively as home scrap, create an additional disposal and polution problem. With a constant concern over depleting our natural resources and our environmental protection, Environmental Protection Agency approved recycling of iron-tin alloy products is to the advantage of every individual, corporation and government agency.
Tin coated, iron based scrap would have an application in the steel making process if a low cost method could be found to reduce the residual alloys, namely tin, tin oxide, iron tin alloy, iron, ferrous oxide, ferric oxide and magnetite, and thus leave a low residual alloy steel feed suitable for, primarily, electric furnaces.
I have now discovered that a method related to the method I used in application Ser. No. 06/529,290, filed Sept. 6, 1983 to recover scrap metal suitable for a charge in an electric furnace from used automobiles, will also produce scrap metal suitable for a charge in an electric furnace from tin coated iron metals.